Suspect in 8-year-old Clinton Township murder case arrested in Canada

A suspect in an 8-year-old murder case in Clinton Township -- which may be tied to a second murder -- has been arrested in Canada and could be extradited next year.

Kin Vukcaj, 37, is suspected in the 2004 shooting death of Ardijan Mitaj and wounding of five others at the Imperial House banquet hall on Groesbeck Highway. Police said the shooting stemmed from a love triangle.

It is believed Vukcaj, who was an immediate suspect, quickly fled to Canada and was expected to try to return to his native Albania.

Vukcaj about two months ago was identified and caught in Montreal, and convicted of possessing a weapon after he tried to apply for government benefits under a false name, according to Clinton Township police and Macomb prosecutors. He was recently sentenced to 42 months in a Quebec prison.

An arrest warrant was reissued in October in 41B District Court in Clinton Township on 12 counts, including one count of first-degree, premeditated murder, five counts of attempted murder and weapons charges.

Extradition proceedings could start early next year, although officials aren't sure if Canadian officials will want Vukcaj to finish serving his term there.

The arrest provided a pleasant surprise for local law enforcement officials.

"Any time you get a suspect in custody and clear up a homicide case, it's always good," said township Capt. Rich Maierle. "We've been looking for this guy through the FBI and the Marshal's Service over the years."

Police believe the shooting may be related to a second murder in a parking lot next to the Imperial House nearly four years later. The body of Gezin Vukcaj, 32, a cousin of Kin Vukcaj, was found Jan. 28, 2008, in the front seat of his friend's Hummer in the parking lot of Tandem Tires, with a gunshot to the back of his head. Robbery was not a motive; police said Gezin Vukcaj was found with $400.

The case remains unsolved.

Gezin Vukcaj was involved in the events related to a dispute that originated from a romantic affair among Albanian families preceding Mitaj's murder in 2004, assistant Macomb prosecutor William Cataldo said.

"The Albanian community is a closed community that has a reputation for solving problems on its own," he said. "But you can't escape justice with us."

Township investigators in 2008 consulted with the federal Balkan Organized Crime Task Force, which investigates crimes originating from the Balkan area of Eastern Europe.

Both shootings occurred in the early morning hours during an Albanian music concert at the hall.

The five people wounded in the 2004 incident included two brothers and three cousins of the victim.

Police believe Vukcaj planned the 2004 shooting since he seemed to make efforts to deceive police. He booked a flight from Metropolitan Airport but it was canceled because he never paid for it. His vehicle was found at Dequindre Road and Metropolitan Parkway in Sterling Heights.

Police in the days following the incident surrounded a house on Pall Mall Drive in Sterling Heights and detained a cousin of Vukcaj, but the cousin was released.

Police executed a search warrant at an apartment complex on Garfield Road near Terra Bella in Clinton Township but the suspect was not found.

Mitaj's death shook the Albanian community. He owned a Hamtramck restaurant after previously owning a Sterling Heights restaurant. He was married and had two children.

Cataldo said when U.S. Department of Justice officials first learned of Vukcaj's arrest, they wanted to pursue an emergency extradition.

"There was some fear that he may be released on bond," he said.

But Vukcaj was prosecuted under Canada's strict gun laws.

"There's no fear he's going to take off," he said.

Federal officials will pursue the standard extradition process, which can take three to six months, he said.

The gun found with Vukcaj was not the suspected murder weapon, Maierle said.